Vietnamese food that I crave for: vacation in Saigon (Part 2)

Snails & clams (Nghêu, sò, ốc, hến)

Location: Quán ốc Thành Long (Thành Long Seafood)
98 Truong Dinh Street, Ward 9, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

If you visit Vietnam (or Ho Chi Minh city to be specific), you cannot miss out on this type of street food. It was featured in Netflix Original Documentary Street Food Asia. These clams and snails can be cooked in many ways, such as steaming with lemongrass, or grilling, or stir-frying with garlic and butter, yielding a lot of finger-licking recipes. Below photos were from those that I liked best:

Steamed rice rolls (Bánh cuốn)

Location: Banh cuon nong Huong Trang
436A/23 3/2 Street, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

There is a popular breakfast in Vietnam named “Bánh cuốn”, or so called steamed rice rolls. By its name, it is literally a very thin, sheet made of steamed rice flour, filled with stir-fried ground pork and mushroom (and cassava), then rolled up. Top with fried shallot, the rolls are then dipped in sweet and spicy fish sauce, served with bean sprouts and herbs. It is optional to have “chả” (Vietnamese pork bologna) with this dish, usually just the rolls stand out by themselves. The flavor, it is simple yet you always want to come back for!

Extra crispy fried rice cake with egg (Bột chiên)

Location: Bột Chiên Đạt Thành
277 Vo Van Tan Street, Ward 5, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Another street food that you should try is this extra crispy fried rice cake (we called it Bột chiên). This time, the steamed rice cake is fried till extra crispy, an egg is cracked in, with some spring onion, boom, the dish was ready! The fried rice cake was crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside, dip into the soy sauce, put some green papaya on top, then enjoy!

Coconut water and rice vermicelli in my dad’s hometown – Ben Tre – the land of coconut

Location: A rest stop in Mo Cay Nam Town, I’m sorry for not remembering the name